Sep 30, 2010

Merrie Destefano at Bitten By Books


Today at Bitten By Books, Merrie Destefano will be dropping by promoting her debut Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles! I'm very excited to read this one and I still have to buy a copy sometime this weekend most likely around doing other things!

She'll be stopping by for a Q&A and to talk about her new book. And you have a chance to win an Amazon giftcard and she'll be giving away 5 signed copies of her book!

Click here to head on over to BBB.

Sep 29, 2010

Contest Craze--Mini Challenge #2


This Mini Challenge Consists Of:
Date A Celebrity!
-Close Your Eyes!
-Imagine You Just Won A Contest Consisting Of A Date (Dinner And A Movie)
-You Get To Choose Any Celebrity/Singer/Sports Star To Go On A Date With
-FYI:Cartoon characters are exempt.

-Mission
-Write A Blog Post Telling Me Who You Would Choose
-Explain Why You Choose Them
-Be Creative In Your Post (maybe include a picture of said person or tell me what you would order for dinner)
-Leave Link To Your Blog Post In The Comments Section
-US Only (unless you have someone to ship to you internationally)

Prize:
Surprise ARC Prize Pack

Cindy at Princess Bookie has posted the next Mini Challenge for her contest craze and I decided to give it another go!

Surprisingly this took me awhile to think of. I mean I like actors and everything, but I never real find myself wishing to go out on a date with one. I don't know, I'm weird I guess! 

So for my first pick I have Jensen Ackles from Supernatural! LOVE him, he's verrrrryyy good looking! Smokin hot! Loved it when he sang "Eye of the Tiger" in season 4!

Dinner I guess could be anything really. Who cares what you eat when you have Jensen across the table from you! For the sake of the challenge let's just go with pizza. Might not be the best "dinner" date, but how can anyone not like pizza?




And because I actually thought of two actors and couldn't really come to a conclusion I also have Ian Somerhalder as my other date. True I love him as Damon in Vampire Diaries, but I also loved his other roles. I think the first one was in Young Americans. That or Black Sash. Both long before LOST. But I saw him in these rolls and loved him then. Even in Black Sash he was a bad boy!

I just love his whole look, his eyebrows especially, how they have that brooding look. What's not to love?

Going for a different dinner type, I would say maybe something Mexican. I love chips 'n' salsa! The spicy the better!


So those would be my celebrity dates and if this was a character date from a book...I'd be here all day. I guess it's a good thing it was celebrities after all!

And once again, be sure to check out my upcoming contest here to earn extra points now.

Review--No Werewolves Allowed by Cheyenne McCray (Book 15 in Reading Challenge)

As a half-human, half-Drow private eye, Nyx is the go-to girl for tracking Demons in the night. So when several of New York City's Werewolves go missing, Alpha Werewolf Dmitri Beketov hires Nyx for the job. But this time, she must leave the dark alleys and bright lights behind...

Nyx's sixth sense tells her that life in the slow lane is a lot deadlier than it appears. Though she usually prefers to work solo, with this case she's going to need all the help she can get. Enter Detective Adam Boyd: he's watching her back, but is this human too sexy for his--and her--own good? Meanwhile, a powerful, malevolent force is exterminating paranorms and "unworthy" humans alike...and Nyx, still trying to get a foothold in her new surroundings, finds herself facing danger at every turn.

Cheyenne McCray's No Werewolves Allowed pretty much picks up where Demons Not Included ended, where Nyx is about to take on a case from the Werewolf alpha to help him find missing members of his pack. One a pregnant woman and two young children. After a rocky start, Nyx is determined to find them, but as her boss tells her, she can't do this alone and brings in help, help that she isn't too thrilled about.

In come the newbies, new characters that is that are paranorms. Including a Shadow Shifter, a Doppler, and a Shifter. These three were quite interesting characters and they were surprising as well. Ice, the Shifter, is the annoying sort, Joshua, the Shadow Shifter is a mysterious sort, and Angel the Doppler is one fierce female who is not meant to be trifled with by any means necessary. She can kick serious butt when she has to.

Nyx, the three newbies and Nyx's partner, Olivia head out into the woods to help the Werewolves with their missing persons case and find themselves with quite a bit of trouble, for they don't really know who the enemy is until they meet the enemy. The enemy is a surprise somewhat, but the character type isn't, I've seen it before in other books and yet the manner of the character type is always different in levels of degree. I liked the way McCray dealt with this issue. I don't want to say what it is, it's not really spoilery, but I don't want to take any chances.

The action was well paced as well yet again and I loved it from beginning to end. Just when you're wondering when a clue or something will come about, BAM! The action takes off and does not stop for anyone! Nyx finds herself deeper into all kinds of trouble and her life and the lives of others are on the line and if she makes one wrong move, someone may die.
 
Amidst all the action there is still time for romance. That being said I won't go any further because of the cliffhanger from Demons Not Included, I don't want to spoil anything yet again, but there is definitely romance involved and it totally rocked!

Overall it was a fabulous read! And I guess because we know the title of book 4, Zombies Sold Separately, it makes it all the fun when Nyx keeps saying how much she hates zombies. Really looking forward to that one! But until then, next we have Vampires Not Invited which promises to be good, because there's vampires! Evil ones most likely, but still gotta love the vamp! That one releases November 30, 2010 so it's slowly making its way around the corner for the holidays!

Overall I give the book 5/5 stars! An excellent read and one I highly recommend!

This was my 15th book read in the September Spectacular Reading Challenge! I TRIPLED the goal!! Yay!

Once again, don't forget about my pre-contest contest. Once I hit 100 followers the real contest with prizes begins! But first I need to hit 100 followers, so spread the word now for extra points. See details here.

Rachel Vincent at Bitten by Books


Today Rachel Vincent is over at Bitten By Books talking about the end of her series! Head on over today for a chance to win ALL of her books! That's right all of her Shifters books and all of her Soul Screamers books plus an ARC of My Soul to Steal which doesn't come out til January 1, 2011!

Click here for a quick link!

Contest ends September 30, 2010 at 11:59 PM Central

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.

Winding up the October releases for my WoW posts! This week my pick is Heaven's Spite by Lilith Saintcrow, the 5th book in her Jill Kismet series.


When a new hellbreed comes calling, playing nice isn't an option. Jill Kismet has no choice but to seek treacherous allies - Perry, the devil she knows, and Melisande Belisa, the cunning Sorrows temptress whose true loyalties are unknown.

Kismet knows Perry and Belisa are likely playing for the same thing--her soul. It's just too bad, because she expects to beat them at their own game. Except their game is vengeance.

Nobody plays vengeance like Kismet. But if the revenge she seeks damns her, her enemies might get her soul after all...

GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2010

Sep 28, 2010

Review--Crusade by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie (Book 14 in Reading Challenge)

THE ULTIMATE BATTLE.
THE ULTIMATE LOVE.

For the past two years, Jenn has lived at Spain's Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.

Forced to return home after a death takes a member of her family, Jenn discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire stronghold. As a lone hunter comes with its own dangers, and the more they share of themselves, the more Jenn stands to lose. apart from her team, Jenn is isolated--and at risk. She craves the company of her fighting partner, Antonio: his protection, his reassurance, his touch. But a relationship with Antonio

Then Jenn is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she has held as true. To survive, Jenn must find the courage to trust herself--and her heart.

Well I also managed to finish Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie, the duo writing team behind the series Wicked! Which was one from my middle school-high school days that I enjoyed! So I had to give their new one a try and also it included vampires!

But here the vampires are not the good guys. At all. They are truly incarnations of evil, hence their name, The Cursed Ones. Vampires are known to the world at large. They presented themselves to be harmless beings at first, but soon tragedy started striking in different parts of the world, mostly to the team of hunters we come to know, we get their back-stories and we soon learn that vampires are evil. But some people in the world, still believe they are good and all that. They are delusional.

Jenn fled her home to train at the Academy, living in a house where her father was a large vampire supporter despite the vampires causing the deaths of several people, Jenn couldn't take it anymore and she left. Only to return two years later with the death of a family member. 

While away Jenn has trained with a group of hunters and they have become a team of sorts hunting vampires and trying to rid the world of their evil. But when Jenn comes home, it is not to warm greetings. There is still some tension and hostility with her father.

Then an even bigger tragedy strikes when someone close to Jenn betrays her. That's when things get really intense and it all happens fairly early on. Can't recall how early since I took a break with reading Alpha. But soon Jenn and her team have a new mission, one that I don't want to get too detailed in. But they have to rescue someone close to them.

You have to be use to the duo author's style to truly enjoy the book. As I said there is a lot of back story for each of the characters and it was interesting at times, some transitions from present to past to present weren't always as smooth, particularly the returning to the present, but it wasn't too bad.

There is quite a bit of action and mystery elements working here too. Jenn and her team are working against the clock and if they run out of time, the worst will happen to their taken one. So yeah, a lot of tension.

The BOC mentions the love between Antonio and Jenn and you learn fairly quickly the relationship between them. I mean, I knew before I started, but I won't mention here just in case. But still, they had a deep relationship and it wasn't all physical either. Since this is a YA book.

There was quite a bit of chaos towards the end that leaves you with just enough, OMG what is going on, what's going to happen next to leave you hanging. Not a monstrous cliffhanger, like at the end of Wicked: Spellbound--and then I had to wait for years for the conclusion! But still there were a few plot threads that weren't tied off. 

Overall it was very interesting and I am curious to see what happens next. Overall I give the book 4/5 stars!

This was my 14th book in the September Spectacular Reading Challenge!

And another reminder to see details that will lead into my 100 followers contest. For extra points click here for details.

Review--Alpha by Rachel Vincent (Book 13 in Reading Challenge)

YOU'VE GOT TO HAVE FAYTHE...

The unscrupulous new Council chair has charged Jace, Marc, and me with trespassing, kidnapping, murder and treason. Yeah, we've been busy. But now it's time to take justice into our own hands. We must avenge my brother's death and carve out the rot at the heart of the council.

It's not going to be easy, and loss seems unavoidable, but I have promised to protect my Pride, no matter what. With a target on my back and Marc at my side, I'm heading for a final showdown that can--that will--change everything forever. A showdown I'm not sure I'm ready for.

But life never waits until you're ready.

So I had to take a break from reading Crusade when I got a copy of Alpha by Rachel Vincent. It's the final book in her shifters series and it's so weird to think that time for Faythe has only been less than a year and for us readers, it's been about 3 I believe.

Faythe has seriously grown as a character, she has become a strong heroine throughout the book. She has had more than her fair share of suffering and Alpha doesn't let up on it just because it's the end. Faythe is going to have to go through more hoops than ever and overcome more obstacles than ever.

The action picks up right at Chapter 1, which I read not too long ago as a sneak peek. And boy was the rest of the novel extraordinary! I can't talk much about it, because even revealing characters seems spoilerish.

But there is a lot of action in this book! It never stops, it was great! There were times when I screamed, laughed, cried, screamed again--and not all the screams were bad ones either! There were definitely a lot of emotions being tugged with this book and some of my "predictions" I made came true in some way or another.

Like I said before, it's hard to talk about how awesome this book was without giving something away or steering you into a direction for a spoiler. So I have to leave this review to be short. Basically, if you've read any of the books before this, you already know you'll be reading it and I hope you find it to be just as awesome as I did.

The book basically deals with the upcoming battle that we know has been coming for a long time running now. There are challenges and obstacles and a whole lot of other turmoil that must be overcome before there can be any kind of ending. The tension runs extremely thick in this one because at every turn you are left wondering, what will happen next?

If you haven't read the Shifters series yet, it is a definite must! My stores shelve it in Romance, and it did throw me off for a bit when I decided to pick up book 1, but it was the best decision ever! The series is not paranormal romance, not every book has a HEA. Since this is the finale of the series there is an HEA, because it is truly the end and deserves a HEA. Now whether the fans from the Pride are all happy, that's another story! The series has quite a bit of action, mystery, some romance--like 1 scene per book, plus a lot of romantic tension and buildup. Faythe has sass and wit and quite a mouth on her, but I love her for it, even if she does drive me crazy sometimes with the choices she makes!

Overall I give the book 5/5 stars! It was truly wonderful and the ending was great too. I am sad to see the series end, but the ending was done superbly! AWESOME job, Rachel!!

This was my 13th book in the September Spectacular Reading Challenge.

And once again, don't forget about my pre-contest contest. Once I hit 100 followers the real contest will come up and I have the points saved from the few entries that I got. If you want extra points in my upcoming contest, check out my post here.

The prize is likely to be a book from my backlist. My books are kept in very good condition, very-very gently used, you probably won't even be able to tell they are used. I will also look through some swag that I have, because I have a lot of author swag. And I might possibly throw in a giftcard to a bookstore. Those are the prizes that I am thinking of anyway. But first I got hit 100 followers, so like I said, spread the word, tell your friends to follow my blog if they like the same kinds of books I read and you read!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly blog post by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Okay, I had to stop reading Crusade because I got myself a copy of Alpha that released today! Already wayyy into it and LOVING it! Finding a teaser was ever so hard but I managed to find a good one and I hope you enjoy it!

First here are the rules for Teaser Tuesday if you are new to the game:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER free
4. Name the title, author, etc.

"She scowled up at him, eyes narrowed. Her arm flew almost faster than I could see. The smack of flesh against flesh was loud in the silence, and a small red handprint stood out starkly on his left cheek. "You have no idea how sorry you're going to be." p332













See, nice teaser, nice vague teaser that doesn't let you know who's really involved. But still teasingly evil!! Check back later today for my review of Alpha! Will likely have tons of good things to say and will be straining myself to write it spoiler free! Of course you know I'm pretty good at being vague, but still letting you know how totally awesome something was!

TITLE: Alpha
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: September 28, 2010 (OFFICIAL DATE: October 1, 2010)

**Once again don't forget about my pre-contest contest! Click here for details.

Sep 27, 2010

Cover Art--Maggie Stiefvater

I've already found the cover for Forever by Maggie Stiefvater at a few blogs and I wanted to add it to mine as well! It's definitely different in some ways and intriguing. Not sure how I feel about the red though. Red can mean a lot of things in some cases depending on the situation. It makes me wonder if the red is going to mean bad things to come or if it simply just red. Will have to wait til next summer to find out.


And the release date so far is July 12, 2011!

You can preorder it here!

Don't forget to scroll down to my previous posts! There is a special post regarding a Shay Doran and a clue he sent me today.

And also, don't forget about my pre-contest contest, where you can earn extra points for an upcoming contest that I will be holding, hopefully soon !

Shay Doran Clue!!

I got a strange package today from Shay Doran, you might have heard about Andrea Cremer's Nightshade campaign that stars Shay and I decided to take part in welcoming the new guy to the block. And today I received a strange clue.

It was a book called Complete Works of Thomas Carlyle: Sartor Resartus: Heroes and Hero-Worshop



It was puzzling to read these pages, sorry I couldn't get better pics of them, but the black lines circle out some words and letters to form a message of some sort. This is the first set of pages that was bookmarked and the message comes out as: "Cameron Nightshade"
 

Then this was the second of pages bookmarked, its message was a little harder to read out but I got it after a second read through: "An element of blamable ambition shows itself in his work he produced another wolf pack of Guardians they would conquer."

I'm pretty sure that was the right word order. From the way the drawing is done with the curvy line, I take it that should be the order. 

It's puzzling. No wonder Shay needs help. For some reason it doesn't sound good. It sounds like something bad might be happening and possibly Cameron Nightshade is involved. 

I will have to check in with some others who are helping Shay out as well and see if our clues together can tells us something else. Shay was finding these books in the library where he now lives from my understanding at his blog.

I don't have a Facebook account so I have no other way of checking in with Shay or others trying to help out. But I will continue trying to piece together this clue with some of the others.

Contest Craze--Mini Challenge


Cindy @ Princess Bookie is having an amazing event, Contest Craze. During each mini challenge, all you have to do is participate and one lucky winner will win an ARC prize pack!

The first Mini Challenge consists cf:
Name Your Top 5 Books of 2011
-Make a blog post and tell me your top 5 most wanted books of 2011! And, why you want them!
-This should take some serious thought!
-You can include the book cover or just the title-author if you want!

My, this is going to be harder than I thought. Only 5 books!! Okay here we go, in no particular order the books that I cannot wait to read are:
Secrets and Shadows by Shannon Delany
This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead
Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer (Yup! Haven't even read Nightshade yet, but I am DYING to read the next one!)
Spell Bound by Kelley Armstrong

Sep 26, 2010

Cover Art--Cheyenne McCray


Saw the cover for Cheyenne McCray's Zombies Sold Separately early this morning and thought I would post it here as well. As always, this isn't the final cover. And since Vampires Not Invited hasn't even been released yet, there's chance this cover will change as well. And I believe, so far at least, this title will release May 24, 2011.

Looks good! I love how the covers have 1 color scheme going on.

I originally saw this cover posted over at All Things Urban Fantasy, and since I have recently taken a liking to this series thought I would show off the cover here as well!

In My Mailbox


In My Mailbox is a weekly blog post by Kirsti over at The Story Siren.

I got quite a haul this week!!  It was a mix of receiving books and swag that I won in contests and 2 books that I bought.



















I got a swag pack from Kalayna Price that had buttons with her book covers on it, a keychain that has the covers of her first two books on it and an ACE and ROC sampler that has a few chapters from new books from ACE and ROC.

Then as you already know from my review, I got my signed copy of The Crescent by Jordan Deen.

Then I bought a copy of Cat Adam's Siren Song.

Then in came signed books that I won in contests from the past few months, including:
Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler
Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison
Shadow Fall by Erin Kellison
Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix

That's what I got this week, so what did you get? Leave a link! Love finding new titles to read even though I have way too much to read as it is!

Sep 24, 2010

Review--The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay (Book 12 in Reading Challenge)

ATLANTA: IT'S THE PROMISED CITY FOR THE OFF-WORLDERS, FOREIGNERS FROM THE ALTERNATE DIMENSIONS OF HEAVEN-LIKE ELYSIA AND HELL-LIKE CHARBYDON. SOME BRING GOOD WORKS AND MIRACLES. AND SOME BRING UNIMAGINABLE EVIL...

Charlie Madigan is a divorced mother of one, and a kick-ass cop trained to take down the toughest human and off-world criminals. She's recently returned from the dead and after a brutal attack, an unexpected revival that has left her plagued by ruthless nightmares and random outbursts of strength that make doing her job for Atlanta P.D.'s Integration Task Force even harder. Since the Revelation, the criminal element in Underground Atlanta has grown, leaving Charlie and her partner Hank to keep the chaos to a dull roar. But now an insidious new danger is descending on her city with terrifying speed, threatening innocent lives: a deadly, off-world narcotic known as ash. Charlie is determined to uncovers the source of ash before it targets another victim--but can she protect those she loves from a force more powerful than heaven and hell combined?

Finished Kelly Gay's Better Part of Darkness today and was only mildly satisfied. I can't understand why. The writing was good, the characters strong, a decent plot line, and yet I found myself struggling to read the book through. It wasn't bad, just not to my taste.

Charlie was an excellent character and a strong heroine to boot, plus she was a mother, making her far different than the other UF heroines we've seen lately--single 20-30 something year olds. Charlie was entertaining as well, she had a witty personality and I enjoyed her character over all. Her interactions with her ex-husband were mildly steamy and thrilling and her bickering with her partner were chuckle worthy, she was also a great mom.

The strain of relationship between Charlie and Will was intense. They're exes and yet it is obvious they still care for one another.

There was little confusion, for me at least, with the world views here. The two different otherworlds that coexist in other realms with Earth and how the people from there are different and not human. And thus the drug was what caused the problems because it came from this world.

Perhaps it was this confusion that led me to not fully enjoy the book as I wanted. There was also a little confusion for me with Charlie's past, having died for a few hours and then returned to life. It gets explained in more details in the book.

There was plenty of action as something tragic happens to Charlie, that makes her fight all the more and seek help from her friends and other unlikely allies. There are quite a few surprises along the way as well. Overall it wasn't a bad read, just not my kind of read. Therefore I give the book 3.5/5 stars.

This was my 12th book in the September Spectacular Reading Challenge.

Upcoming Contest--Spread the Word for EXTRA POINTS!

Update:

Hello all! I see that I am getting close to the big 100 followers! Once I reach 100 followers I will have a contest. Not sure what it will contain, but I never thought I would get this many followers when I first started so I am very excited to see how many of you stop by my blog. Even if it isn't everyday, it still means a lot to me that you decide to follow my blog.

But before I can have a contest, I need to reach 100 followers! So spread the word, tell your friends to stop by and become a follower if they like the same stuff I read and what you read.

If you leave a link in the comments saying where you spread the word, I will give you an extra +1 point for every place you post the announcement in the contest that I hope to have soon!

And tell your friends to follow my blog soon, because I will consider the first 100 followers to be "old followers" and will reward old followers with an additional +3 points.

And be sure to stop by my friend Cem's blog at Cem's Book Hideout, who is planning a similar contest as she is close to 100 followers as well. If you become one of the first 100 followers at my blog as well as her blog, I will reward you with an additional +2 points!

Cem reads similar books that I do as well as others that I don't, so you'll get quite the variety of reviews between the two of us!

That's a (minimum) extra 6 points before the contest even starts! So spread the word and leave links in the comments for where you post as well as leaving a link if you're a follower of Cem's blog so you can get your extra points!

I'll be working on a contest idea in the meantime. So spread the word!

Book Blogger Hop

This blogger hop was created by Jennifer at Crazy for Books.

Here are the rules:
1. Enter your book blog link in the Linky List below (be sure to include how long you've been blogging and what genres you review!). If you post about the Hop on your blog, please link directly to your Hop post (don't forget to answer this week's question - see below!).
2. Visit other blogs in the Linky List! Make new friends! Follow new book bloggers! Talk about books! Rave about authors! (Please do not leave your link and not visit other blogs - it's just not cool and not in the spirit of the Hop!)
3. Post about the Hop on your blog! Spread the word about the book party! The more the merrier!
4. In your blog post, answer the following question (new question each week!):
 
This week's question is: When you write reviews, do you write them as you are reading or wait until you have read the entire book?


I have to finish the book first. I feel like I won't know how much I love or not love as much, a book until I read that final page. I like to know the book in its entirety first and then right my review because my opinion can change. The first half might be good and the second half maybe not. I like to know the whole book before writing a review.

Sep 23, 2010

Cover Art--Jenna Black

I just saw this over at Bookmark Your Thoughts and had to post it as well! I can't wait to read it!


Here's the BOC description:

On top of spending most of her time in a bunker-like safe house and having her dates hijacked by a formidable Fae bodyguard, Faeriewalker Dana Hathaway is in for some more bad news: the Erlking and his pack of murderous minions known as the Wild Hunt have descended upon Avalon.

With his homicidal appetite and immortal powers, the Erlking has long been the nightmare of the Fae realm. A fragile treaty with the Faerie Queen, sealed with a mysterious spell, is the one thing that keeps him from hunting unchecked in Avalon, the only place on Earth where humans and Fae live together. Which means Dana’s in trouble, since it’s common knowledge that the Faerie Queen wants her – and her rare Faeriewalker powers – dead.

The smoldering, sexy Erlking’s got his sights set on Dana, but does he only seek to kill her, or does he have something much darker in mind?

Shadowspell is set to release January 4, 2011!

Review--The Crescent by Jordan Deen (Book 11 in Reading Challenge)

Becoming a werewolf is not an option for seventeen-year-old Lacey Quinn, but death can be a strong motivator.

Lacey is so focused on her future that everyday life has passed her by. Counting down to her eighteenth birthday, Lacey is almost home free. But when she falls for the mysterious Alex Morris, she lands in the middle of an ancient war between two enemy wolf packs. Tempting dreams, tantalizing lies and a dangerous love triangle ensues leaving Lacey heartbroken and confused.

Lacey's fate rests in the hands of Alex and Brandon, but both are pulling her strings for their own agendas. Even as she slips further into the dark world of werewolves, Lacey struggles to find the truth and save the only family she's ever known.

I actually got two books finished today, as Jordan Deen's The Crescent was a rather quick read being only 187 pages. But it's shortness didn't detract from the thrilling story!

I found myself immediately engrossed once I got a few pages in. Lacey's parents are fighting and she leaves the house to escape the arguments. School soon starts and that's when Lacey's dilemma begins when the new boy, Alex comes into the office where she spends first period as a student aide and everything changes from there.

Even though this was a YA book, it didn't have the high school feel to it, even though a portion of the book is spent at school. But the parts that rang of a YA book felt to be much more sophisticated than what I was expecting. Lacey begins to fall for Alex and I won't get into the details but she finds herself questioning things about their relationship, and things that revolve around the "L-word". For some reason, I enjoyed that part. I liked her confliction and her wondering if what she was feeling was real. So many books have the teens just end up being in love or lust, yet Lacey, a 17 year old, has feelings that seem more real.

Then in comes Brandon and the ever popular love triangle continues, but it was so hard to figure out which guy I wanted to see Lacey with. Both were mysterious, and yet kind. They both seemed to know Lacey and she in turn knew them in different ways. It was very deep.

There was a bit of a mystery element going on, not a "who-done-it", but still there were secrets, secrets that involved Lacey. Things Lacey didn't really know about. And that's disregarding the whole "werewolves are among us" thing. Which it clearly states on the BOC that there are werewolves and the cover tells you that as well, so it shouldn't come as a spoiler.

I fell deeply into this book, I could hardly put it down. With the exception of a few grammar and spelling errors, it made for an easy and fun read. But it still leaves enough questions at the end that make me want to read the next book, Half Moon, on my list for next year.

It's hard to review much on this one since there was a big secret that reveals itself in small pieces gradually throughout the book and I can't reveal much along the way to that without giving something away. But basically there is a BIG secret, some of which I guessed a little at, but was fuzzy on the other details. It's hard to explain, best just to read it and enjoy!

Overall I give the book 4/5 stars!

This was my 11th book in the September Spectacular Reading Challenge.

Review--Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell (Book 10 in Reading Challenge)

LILY IVORY IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE WITCH. HER SPELL-CASTING POWERS TEND TO DRAW MISCHIEVOUS SPIRITS WHILE KEEPING NORMAL HUMANS AT A DISTANCE. BUT NOW HER VINTAGE STORE COULD GIVE HER A CHANCE TO MAKE FRIENDS IN SAN FRANCISCO.

Lily hopes for a normal life when she opens Aunt Cora's Closet. With her magical knack for vintage fashion--she can sense vibrations of the past from clothing and jewelry--her store becomes a big hit.

But when a client is murdered and children start disappearing from the Bay Area, Lily may be the only one who can unravel the crime. She tries to keep her identity a secret while investigating, but it's not easy--especially under the spells of sexy "myth buster" Max Carmichael and powerful witch Aidan Rhodes. Will Lily's witchy ways be forced out of the closet?

Juliet Blackwell's Secondhand Spirits is truly a must read! If you like mystery with your paranormal or like Victoria Laurie's series, then this is a must read for you! It has just enough balance of mystery and paranormal to be a fast read! I devoured this in almost 1 day, had to read the last 40ish pages this morning.

It begins with a nice intro with the characters and the mystery of Aidan Rhodes, the male witch and there is a a different use in terminology here with witches, warlocks and the like, but Blackwell explains them all easily and entwines the meaning nicely into the flow of the story.

And what a mystery it was. We know what the mystery will be based on the BOC, but we don't know when it all starts, and when it does, WOW! There is definitely an element of danger involved as well, because the murder mystery also involves witchcraft and a very old legend that rings of The Lady or Woman in White. But it is a Spanish version of the story and it's not just a legend!

Lily digs deeper into the mystery, determined to find the missing child who she had seen just before she vanished. And there are quite a few suspects and I was way off on one, but then I remember my "rule" to mysteries, which I can't repeat for spoiler purposes, and sure enough that rule rang true!

There was romance involved as well, yet again we find ourselves a sort of love triangle, but not exactly. There is one main love interest, won't tell which of the two men it is from the BOC and the other just doesn't feel like a love interest to me just yet.

I love a good mystery now and then, but I am picky when it comes to mysteries. I am too much of a supernatural girl to read anything that doesn't really contain the supernatural in some way. Hence my love of Victoria Laurie's mysteries, The Psychic Eye and The Ghost Hunter mysteries, both fabulous series if you like the blend of paranormal and mystery as I do!

Overall I give the book 5/5 stars! A GREAT read!! I will definitely be adding the second book to the series, A Cast Off Coven, to my To Buy List!

This was my 10th book in the September Spectacular Reading Challenge! I DOUBLE the number! Now let's see how far I can get!

Sad News


I just found out, as many might have already, that Jennifer Rardin, author of the Jaz Parks series, has passed away this past Monday.

I was devastated this morning as I saw it on one blog, but wasn't sure, then I saw it on another blog and have found it to be true. Jennifer has passed away. As only a reader, I am terribly sad because I enjoyed Jennifer's books. I loved going to all these different places from the comforts of my room. I enjoyed Jaz and her friends and everything about her books.

I even remember that I got to meet Jennifer once with Colleen Gleason when they stopped in St. Louis.

It's a deep tragedy when someone passes away and I am going to miss Jennifer, she was a very nice person. I remember talking with her at the signing and saying I wanted to be a writer, she gave me some advice like all the wonderful authors do.

I am going to miss her and her books. And if you haven't read her books yet, I highly recommend them. They are a treat!

She will never be forgotten by this reader, may she rest in peace.

Sep 22, 2010

Review--Dark Time by Dakota Banks (Book 9 in Reading Challenge)


THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, SHE SOLD HER SOUL TO A DEMON. NOW SHE WANTS IT BACK.

For centuries, the woman calling herself Maliha Crayne has lived a second life--as an assassin for the malevolent creature who owns her soul. A haunted killer with the blood of countless victims on her hands, she has finally discovered a way to nullify the demonic pact that chains her: If she saves a life for every one she has taken, she will be free.

But if she fails, her punishments will be unspeakable, unendurable...and neverending.

Dakota Banks' Dark Time was a very interesting read. It starts off in the beginning when Maliha--known as Susannah at the time and how she came to be working for the demon. It's told in third person so it's not like the events happened in the past but we see it from the beginning. Time moves forward a little and we see bits of Susannah's life as a demon's assassin and then finally she realizes she doesn't want to do this anymore. She doesn't want to be a demon's assassin, so she makes a new deal with the demon to save lives instead of killing them to balance out her debt.

She was once ageless, an Ageless one, and now with each life she saves she will grow a little older. Maybe a day, maybe 2 months, maybe a year. It's unpredictable, but if she doesn't complete her end of the bargain before her death, then she will be the demon's plaything for a very long time.

I found it interesting that at times Maliha still had to do unsavory things to save lives. She sometimes had to kill bad guys, which was a little odd, but since these characters were evil humans there was no mark against her.

The story line was complicated at first since we have to start from when she was an assassin, but it moves rather quickly along as she tries to right the wrongs of the deaths of two computer guys. It gets blown way out of proportion with technology companies and other unsavory characters.

There was a lot to it that I can't even begin to explain, but as you read along it all makes sense as Maliha has a mystery to solve of sorts. And another one that will likely continue on through the next books involving the demon she made her deal with.

There is also a bit of romance in the book, but not much. A lot of tension between the characters.

There wasn't a whole of supernatural aspects to the book other than the demon portions and possibly a few threads here and there if you want to call these "unsaid" events supernatural. Basically no vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, etc. But still a very enjoyable read. There was even a bit of a cliffhanger that leaves you wondering about a certain character, not Maliha, but a secondary one.

With that I have to say I will definitely be reading the second book Sacrifice when I get the chance! Overall I give the book 4/5 stars! Another GREAT read! And even by a local author!!

This was my 9th book in the September Spectacular Reading Challenge. Looks like I might go over my double the number of books amount! Awesome!

Contest Alert


Paranormal Haven is having a HUGE October contest! That's right, for the entire month of October, Paranormal Haven will be having a spectacular Halloween contest, because Halloween is the coolest holiday ever!

They will have guest posts by amazing authors like Jeaniene Frost, Gena Showalter, Kerrelyn Sparks, Stacia Kane, Moira Rogers, Melissa De La Cruz and many more (count is at 25 authors participating).

There will still be some non-Halloween events going on and all the Halloween events will eventually be put into a list on the sidebar!

And I post this because if you blog, tweet, or spread the word any other way BEFORE October 1 AND put the button in your sidebar like I have you can extra entry points to the contests!

For more info click here!

Can't wait til October--it's my favorite time of year! Of course I do love December as well, for that's when my birthday is and I love celebrating Christmas with my family, but let's focus on Halloween for the next month!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.

I was going down my list of releases still to come this year, when I realized I skipped one for September! It was a release I started hearing about some time ago and I guess I forgot to do my WoW post!

Anyway, a debut release that I can't wait to read is Merrie Destefano's Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles.


WELCOME TO YOUR NEXT CHANCE.

Chaz Domingue works as a professional Babysitter in New Orleans. His job is to integrate and protect the recently deceased into their new and improved lives—a position he reluctantly accepted after his father was murdered. Though Fresh Start has always been the only game in town, resurrection isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Nine lives are all a person can get—and a powerful group of desperate, high-level Nine-Timers will stop at nothing to possess the keys to true immortality. Unfortunately, this places Chaz at the lethal center of a maelstrom.

Now the only hope for Chaz and his family—and the ultimate fate of the human race—is secretly locked away in the mind of Angelique, the beautiful, mysterious Newbie who’s been entrusted to Chaz’s care…

TITLE: Afterlife: The Resurrection Chronicles
AUTHOR: Merrie Destefano
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: September 28, 2010

Sep 21, 2010

Teaser Tuesday


Teaser Tuesday is a weekly blog post by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Okay since I haven't quite started Mortal Path yet, here's a teaser I had picked out yesterday from Paranormalcy.

First the rules of Teaser Tuesday:
1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, genre, etc.

"'I want you to debrief.'
'Fine. Walked through the cemetery. Froze my butt off. Saw the vampire. Vampire tried to attack me. Tased the vampire. Tagged the vampire. Read the vampire his rights. Sent the vampire along. His name was Steve, by the way.'" p12












Okay so I went way over 2 lines again, but it was a chuckle moment here and the sentences were short and direct.

If I come across a good teaser once I start my next read I will post another teaser later in the day, so check back for a possible extra teaser!

TITLE: Paranormalcy
AUTHOR: Kiersten White
GENRE: YA Paranormal
RELEASE DATE: August 31, 2010

Sep 20, 2010

Review--Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (Book 8 in Reading Challenge)


VAMPIRES
I SEE THINGS YOU CAN'T SEE.
WEREWOLVES
I FIND THINGS THAT HUNT YOU.
FAERIES
I AM YOUR PROTECTOR.
SHAPESHIFTERS
BUT EVEN I CAN'T PROTECT YOU NOW.

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shapeshifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Despite having had a monstrous headache all weekend long that has continued on to today, I managed to start and finish Kiersten White's debut Paranormalcy. And it was quite enjoyable!

I had been hearing good things about the book and I got curious. So when I received a good 40% off coupon from Borders plus my "plus membership" discount, I thought I would give it a try despite my growing TBR pile. And as I said I finished it in one day...with a lingering headache. Go me!

Evie is quite a character. From other reviews I read, I almost wondered if I was going to like her at all with her obsession for pink frilly things and being a bit of a girlie-girl. But I actually did like her! She was full of surprises. Yes, she was all about pink and was obsessed with a teen drama show, but that's what made Evie, Evie. She was also quite spunky and energetic. She could easily make you laugh with her attitude and I did find myself LOLing...which almost wasn't too smart since my niece was napping right next door. Opps!

The other characters were engaging as well. Such as her ex-boyfriend, the faerie, Reth. He was too mysterious for me. Way such. And kind of creepy. Faeries here were a little eerie. They were supposed to be helping the IPCA, but like all dangerous things supernatural, we the readers should know to never trust them completely. And Evie didn't. Reth was almost stalkerish in the book, which just amped up his creepiness for me.

Now Lend, the shapeshifter, on the other hand was completely adorable! I totally fell for him as easily as Evie did. He was a sweetheart and the way Evie's feelings developed for him over the book felt real. Of course she already thinking she might be in love with him was a little over the top, but whatever. 16 is 16 and I guess 16 year-olds can truly fall in love.

The storyline was definitely intriguing for there is something out there in the world killing paranormals. I mean this has to be something big and powerful for it to accomplish this task. Which amplifies the danger involved and Evie finds herself in the middle of things as does Lend, but that's another part of the story!

Not getting too into the details, Evie learns more about herself than she ever thought possible. Her past is muddled, she doesn't know much about her life before working for the IPCA and somethings get revealed about her identity, but it is still a little confusing, because you don't really learn the extent of everything, but still it will make for great learning and story lines for the next book which I can't wait to read!

Overall I give the book 4/5 stars! Another GREAT read!

This was my 8th book in the September Spectacular Reading Challenge. As I said before I am trying to DOUBLE the number of books to be read! I think it might actually be possible since I am 8/10 now and moving onto book 9! Of course I likely won't start it til tomorrow since my head still hurts.

Until next time readers!

Sep 19, 2010

Top 5 Sundays


Well it appears I did the Top 5 Sundays topic early last week. So this week I will just do my own. Otherwise Larissa at Larissa's Bookish Life would have a topic up for her newly made weekly blog post.

My topic is one of my favorites and may have been a similar topic in the past on Larissa's blog. My topic this week will be Top 5 Favorite Disney Movies--because as you may already know, I am a big Disney fan!

And I would've done this earlier, but my power went out at 8am and never came back on before I had to leave for a family event. Luckily, thankfully, it was on when I returned!

So in no special order, here are my Top 5 Favorite Disney Movies!

Snow White: Not told in the same fashion as the original fairy tale, it's still one of my faves

Peter Pan: I always loved this one, because Neverland sounded awesome! Plus the ride at Disney World is one of my faves as well.

The Little Mermaid
: I LOVED this one because of the music. The music was awesome and being under the sea was cool.

Beauty and the Beast: Besides just enjoying the original fairy tale. I LOOOOVED this one because as I might have said earlier. I am so Belle! The love of reading, wanting adventure in life and of course the brown hair and ponytail!

Sleeping Beauty: This was my first fave Disney movie/princess as well. My favorite scene was when the fairies were arguing over what color the dress should be!

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly blog post by Kirsti over at The Story Siren.

Well as you already know, I finally got Blameless. That was on Monday.

But regardless here's what else I got this week, I went to Borders because I had a really good coupon and got:


No Werewolves Allowed by Cheyenne McCray

As a half-human, half-Drow private eye, Nyx is the go-to girl for tracking Demons in the night. So when several of New York City’s Werewolves go missing, Alpha Werewolf Dmitri Beketov hires Nyx for the job. But this time, she must leave the dark alleys and bright lights behind…

Nyx’s sixth sense tells her that life in the slow lane is a lot deadlier than it appears. Though she usually prefers to work solo, with this case she’s going to need all the help she can get. Enter Detective Adam Boyd: he’s watching her back, but is this human too sexy for his—and her—own good? Meanwhile, a powerful, malevolent force is exterminating paranorms and “unworthy” humans alike…and Nyx, still trying to get a foothold in her new surroundings, finds herself facing danger at every turn.



Crusade by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

The ultimate battle. The ultimate love.

For the past two years, Jenn has lived and trained at Spain’s Sacred Heart Academy Against the Cursed Ones. She is among the few who have pledged to defend humanity or die trying. But the vampires are gaining power, and the battle has only just begun.

Forced to return home after death takes a member of her family, Jenn discovers that San Francisco is now a vampire strong-hold. As a lone hunter apart from her team, Jenn is isolated—and at risk. She craves the company of her fighting partner, Antonio: his protection, his reassurance, his touch. But a relationship with Antonio comes with its own dangers, and the more they share of themselves, the more Jenn stands to lose.

Then Jenn is betrayed by one who was once bound to protect her, causing her to doubt all she had held as true. To survive, Jenn must find the courage to trust herself—and her heart.

Then I received Heir of the Night by Helen Lowe in a contest I won at the Supernatural
Underground
!

IF NIGHT FALLS, ALL FALL...IN THE FAR NORTH OF THE WORLD OF HAARTH LIES THE BITTER MOUNTAIN RANGE KNOWN AS THE WALL OF NIGHT. GARRISONED BY THE NINE HOUSES OF THE DERAI, THE WALL IS THE FINAL BASTION BETWEEN THE PEOPLES OF HAARTH AND THE SWARM OF THE DARK--WHICH DERAI HAVE BEEN FIGHTING ACROSS WORLDS AND TIME.

Malian, Heir to the House of Night, knows the history of her people: the unending war with the Darkswarm; the legendary heroes blazing with long-lost power the internal strife that has fractured the Derai's former strength. But now the Darkswarm is rising again, and Malian's destiny as Heir of Night is bound inextricably to both ancient legend and any future the Derai--or Haarth--may have.



Then my week wasn't over yet, I also got Dark Time by Dakota Banks in the mail that I won in a contest over at her blog! I even found out she lives not too far from me!! Can't wait to read this one either! Too many books, too little time--the reader's curse!



THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, SHE SOLD HER SOUL TO A DEMON. NOW SHE WANTS IT BACK.

For centuries, the woman calling herself Maliha Crayne has lived a second life—as an assassin for the malevolent creature who owns her soul. A haunted killer with the blood of countless victims on her hands, she has finally discovered a way to nullify the demonic pact that chains her: If she saves a life for every one she has taken, she will be free.

But if she fails, her punishments will be unspeakable, unendurable...and neverending.


Well that was my hoard this week! Not too bad! So what did you guys get? Leave a link! I love to find new reads as well, even though I don't need them since my TBR pile keeps growing instead of shrinking! :)